Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Book of a Thousand Days

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Book of a Thousand Days Book Cover Book of a Thousand Days
Shannon Hale
Fantasy
Bloomsbury
December 18, 2007
308

When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows. (from Goodreads/the publisher)

One-sentence review: Overall a good book with a predictable romance, a decent protagonist, and an annoying “sidekick.”

The good: I thought the book was well written, if a little lacking in substance. The romance was good, Dashti was a pretty good main character, and Tegus was awesome. I ended up rooting for Dashti and Tegus, and I loved My Lord the cat and how he finally helped Saren snap out of her craziness.

The bad: Holy cow was Lady Saren annoying! I know that some characters are just supposed to be unlikable, but this one was a little much–though she did calm down later. I thought the lore could’ve been a little more detailed, and I thought it was weird that the bad guy turns into a wolf. Really? We get that he’s a terrible person, but let’s make him a little more believable. The song stuff was a little weird too–even for fantasy.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book for sure, and I did enjoy it once I got into it. It’s just not my favorite of Hale’s. Her Books of Bayern and Princess Academy are a lot better.

Review: Happier at Home

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Happier at Home Book Cover Happier at Home
Gretchen Rubin
Nonfiction Self-Help
Three Rivers Press
September 4, 2012
Kindle
220
Library

In the spirit of her blockbuster #1 New York Times bestseller The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin embarks on a new project to make home a happier place. . . .So, starting in September (the new January), Rubin dedicated a school year—September through May—to making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort, and love.

One-sentence review: The writing was choppy, the material was reused, and the book didn’t add anything to The Happiness Project.

Background: Having read reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, I decided to just check this out from the library. Good choice.

The good: I like the author’s writing style. It’s more conversational and approachable-sounding, though the book itself was choppy.

The bad: I would’ve liked new material in this book, but a lot of it was reused from the last book. So, really, you just need to read the one and ask yourself, “Hm, how can I apply this concept to my home.” Boom. You’ve got Happier at Home. Okay, not quite, but close.

Bottom line: Read the first book. I’m giving it 3 stars just because I do like the stories and the author’s writing style.

Review: The Happiness Project

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Rubin_HProjectTitle: The Happiness Project
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Publication info: Harper Perennial (2009), paperback, 292 pages
Source: birthday present
Rating: 4 stars

One-sentence review: I loved this book, and though the premise was simple and the contents commonsensical, I was able to glean some great information and become more determined to be the guardian of my own happiness.

 

From Goodreads

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project. . . . Her conclusions are sometimes surprising—she finds that money can buy happiness, when spent wisely; that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that “treating” yourself can make you feel worse; that venting bad feelings doesn’t relieve them; that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference—and they range from the practical to the profound.

Written with charm and wit, The Happiness Project is illuminating yet entertaining, thought-provoking yet compulsively readable. Gretchen Rubin’s passion for her subject jumps off the page, and reading just a few chapters of this book will inspire you to start your own happiness project

Background

My incredibly thoughtful husband bought me this book for my birthday, having read really good reviews on Amazon and knowing that I’d been going through a sort-of funk. By the time my birthday rolled around, I was feeling much better, but because I love some good nonfiction, I gave this a shot. I was not disappointed.

The Good

The Happiness Project had a lot of good tips on how to take the happiness you have in your life and expand it within your individual capacity. The information–divided into sections according to items on a list of personal “commandments”–was backed up with a lot of good research and examples, and I was totally inspired to take my happiness into my own hands and improve my life–and, of course, create my own personal commandments, which I’m still working on following.

The Bad

I wouldn’t say this was really “bad,” but a lot of the information was common sense, and if I had wanted to do my own research, I would have come to some of the same conclusions. Sometimes the narrative felt a little rambling, but not as bad as the sequel (review on that coming soon!).

Bottom Line

I’d recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone seeking greater happiness in his or her life, which I hope we’re all striving toward.

Rating: 4 stars